Sullivan: At home in NJ, Peppers enjoying the pre-draft ride
TEANECK – In this room, nobody really cares.
Among these people, it doesn’t matter.
Inside the walls of Packers Shoes on Teaneck Road, there is too much excitement about Jabrill Peppers’ arrival for thoughts to be sidetracked by what might happen next week, about where Peppers will get drafted or what position he’ll play in the NFL.
Here, among a group of current football players from Peppers’ high school alma mater Paramus Catholic, alongside his mom, Ivory Bryant, a few of his cousins, his former PC athletic director Scott Langan and current PC football coach Dan Sabella, Peppers is having much more fun being one of the guys than one of the NFL’s next big stars. He’s happy going back in time, if only for an hour or two, a regular kid joking about detention (Langan assures the kids the black sneaker version of the new Adidas UltraShoot cleat Peppers is here to endorse meets the school dress code) and reminiscing about rushing through the halls to get to class on time.
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Of course, Peppers’ reality has indeed changed, and not just because he’s at the center of one of the most debated, dissected pre-draft conversations we’ve had in years. Peppers’ new world is reflected just as much in the oversized $10,000 check he is here to present to Paramus Catholic as part of the whirlwind overnight visit to his home state, a check that will go toward the school’s scholarship fund.
“You don’t forget where you come from,” Bryant said, looking at the donation her son made in conjunction with Adidas. “It’s awesome to give back to a program that you had success with, a program and institution where you were educated, where you graduated from. It’s where he’s from. He’s very close to the players and the staff and it’s awesome.”
Paramus Catholic has never had a football alum quite like Peppers. Though onetime standout Anthony DiCosmo went through an NFL training camp in 1999, the emergence of Peppers as a potential bona fide NFL star has brought a whole new level of attention to the state champion Paladins, laying a path that is likely to welcome fellow Paladins Rashan Gary and Drew Singleton in the near future. Langan is more than happy to talk about the young man he once coached in track, who often sat in his office for the final two years of high school (after transferring from Don Bosco), and did so during a recent visit to the school by a scout from the Los Angeles Rams. That the Rams don’t have a first-round pick this year is yet another reminder that predictions about Peppers have ranged anywhere from the Top 10 (ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft has him going No. 10 to the Bills) to somewhere in the second round.
Peppers doesn’t know the answer any more than you do, doesn’t have any concrete sense if he’ll be a high first-round pick, a middle first-round pick, a late first-round pick, or a no-first-round pick. Of course he'd be more than happy to host his Thursday night draft party in New Jersey for up to 150 family and friends and already be assured of his football fate, would love nothing more than to give you the answer you’re looking for.
He just doesn’t know.
But give the kid credit for this: He hasn’t gotten tired of the question. And as NFL front offices spend their pre-draft days trying to categorize, stack and rate the next wave of players coming into the league, they would do well to remember how the multidimensional Peppers navigated his way through the vast minefield of questions. No, he hasn’t been perfect, using the occasional Twitter strokes to answer back at critics, but as he stood inside the store Saturday and took a few minutes’ break from signing autographs and taking pictures, he wore a smile bright enough to bring sunshine to the gray, rainy day outside the store’s door. There’s no chance a conversation about where – and whether – he belongs in the first round of the draft is going to dampen his enjoyment of being in the conversation at all.
“I’ve done all I could do, put up the numbers at the combine, the tape, just trying to be the best person I can be on and off the field,” Peppers said. “So I’m not really concerned with who picks me. It’ll be a blessing whoever picks me, and wherever I go I’m going to be the best player and person I can be.”
We all know the story by now. Great local high school star who used his final two years at Paramus Catholic to become a top-rated college recruit. All American college player who used his time at Michigan to become a Heisman Trophy finalist. Played as many as 15 different positions in college, lining up on offense, defense and special teams. Standout return specialist, Wildcat weapon and full-time linebacker. Took one for his Wolverine team, moving off his more natural safety position to fill a need. Too small to play linebacker in the NFL (5-foot-11, 213 pounds); too stiff for full-time coverage role.
Peppers has heard it all, heard it in his six or seven on-site pre-draft meetings with NFL teams, heard it countless more times in interviews at the NFL scouting combine, heard it everywhere from fans to family to friends. The sum of his many NFL parts has left him as one of the most talked-about prospects in the field, dissected and analyzed not simply for what he can do, but for what he can’t. Which is to say, not much. But for a player who can do so many different things, the question becomes, does he do any one of them well enough to warrant a first-round pick?
“There definitely are some similarities [in what teams have asked me], but the biggest question is where do I see myself playing and is it where they see me playing. Usually it matches up pretty well,” Peppers said. “I see myself definitely in the defensive backfield. I’m definitely a DB, whatever role they see fit, best for their team and for me, then that’s what it’ll be. I’m definitely very comfortable wherever it might be in the defensive backfield.
“Some see me as a high safety, some see me as a box safety, some see me as a nickel, some see me as a dime guy, so you know it definitely varies. But the main position in the defensive backfield. Absolutely I’m comfortable in any of those.”
He’s been comfortable here - “It feels good to smell the Jersey air,” he said - but a quick overnight visit is coming to a close. He stands at the edge of Teaneck Road, ready to cross the street to where his cousin’s car waits to take him to the airport. By the time he returns, draft night will be here, and the question we are all asking will be answered. He’s fine waiting until then.
“It’s a blessing to be in this situation and you just take it as such,” he said. “Just put a smile on your face and enjoy the process.”
Email: sullivan@northjersey.com